Taught By The Ones I Served | Author Valerie Melroy

What If the People You Set Out to Serve Became Your Greatest Teachers?

For more than 50 years, Valerie Melroy has walked alongside individuals and families impacted by mental health diagnoses, substance use disorders, and intellectual and developmental disabilities.

From crowded congregate settings in the United States to communities across 19 countries, her journey reveals that serving is not about fixing people but about seeing, hearing, and honoring each person. With honesty and humility, she shares unforgettable encounters filled with laughter, heartbreak, and breakthroughs that shaped not only her career but also her soul.

If you long to make a difference in your family, your community, or the world, this book will show you how.

Blending personal stories with practical strategies and spiritual insights, Taught by the Ones I Served is a heartfelt guide for anyone seeking to make an impact. Whether you are a service provider, ministry leader, volunteer, family member, peer, or simply someone who wants to uplift others, you will find wisdom here that costs nothing to implement yet has the power to change everything.

Come meet the silent teachers, the everyday heroes, and the voices too often ignored. Their lessons will challenge you. Their stories will inspire you. Their lives will prove that every person has immeasurable worth.

Endorsements

I thoroughly enjoyed reading about your history of working directly with individuals. Telling people’s stories is so impactful; it really is where we learn the most. God has given you a gift of seeing people as they are, and you are passing that gift on to us. It really requires patience and unconditional love, all traits of God – love and humility. I love how you incorporate scripture into the whole book. It really shows how God is behind everything in this world, especially loving others. You are such an inspiration for how to put God first in all things and how prayer is so important.

You have given me valuable and simple tools to use in my own life and with others. The theme of valuing and honoring others permeates your book. I have always felt there are easy and simple ways to help those who have challenges, and your book reinforces that thought. Just a simple walk together can help.

There is nothing out there like this book. It puts God first, honors and loves people with humility and understanding, and gives personal lessons to learn. The personal lessons help us to help others even more.

Denise B.

Valerie is a visionary and inspirational leader who has spent decades leading a high-performing team to effect change in the mental health system. Her data-driven approach and unwavering advocacy have provided valuable insights into how to better serve those living with mental illness, substance use disorders, and intellectual disabilities, leading to improved outcomes. This book is the culmination of lessons learned over decades of servant leadership and provides unique insights into the field of mental health.

– Daniel Moyer, Board Chair, Voice and Vision, Inc.

It is a privilege and an honor to endorse this book. I was blessed to work with Valerie Melroy as a consultant in the agency she co-founded, Voice and Vision. The experience was short but powerful and transforming as it moved me closer to my purpose. The book is impactful and reflects her strong commitment to serve one another humbly in love (Galatians 5:13a NIV), particularly those in need of healing of the mind, body, and spirit (This endorsement has been shortened for the website).

– Rev. Robin Bearden-Reed, M. Div., Pastor of Mt. Sinai AMEC African Methodist Episcopal Church (AMEC)

I have known Valerie for more than four decades and have always appreciated her keen sense of the loving heart of our Father God. Her sensitivity to the people she has encountered over her 50 years of experience has taught her valuable lessons that she shares in this wonderful book (This endorsement has been shortened for the website).

– Sharon Buss President, Global Outpouring Author of Rich Wounds, Psalmist

Seen, heard, and known. These three words perfectly describe how one feels after encountering Valerie Melroy.

Valerie is not only an advocate, minister, and friend, she is also a mother; my mother, and a grandmother to 17 grandchildren. I’ve had the privilege of working alongside her in the mental health field, and of traveling with her to just a few of the many countries she has visited throughout her decades of service (This endorsement has been shortened for the website).

– Chrissy Lenk, Educator and Advocate Advocate at Pass on The Truth Anti Human Trafficking Advocate

Valerie spent decades working in the mental health field. What the book reminds us of is sometimes we need to think outside of the box. It’s the perfect description of how Valerie addresses each and every person she comes in contact with. I particularly like the story about Billy and the details of how his dream was finally realized. I highly recommend this book to anyone that loves uplifting stories and those who particularly work in the mental health field. Valerie‘s approach is very unique, and you could learn something from each and every story she shares… Gems of knowledge and wisdom from decades of thinking outside the box. It’s a quick, easy, and enjoyable read also! I highly recommend it.